Life's Curve Ball
by roxxisaid
Summary: Bella Swan was never one to have many friends. In fact she only had two real friends to count on. When life decides to throw her a curve ball she will have to learn to live with someone that hates her. – Intended for a mature audience -
1. Chapter 1

**All characters belong to S. Meyer**

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CHAPTER 1

It had been almost a month since I was given the news of my father's death. A month that I don't even remember. I feel as though I have been sleeping and have just woken up from a horrible dream, the only difference is that it was no longer April 11, 2010, it is now May 10, 2010.

Almost a month ago I was at home sulking at how my father had practically tried to force me into going on a fishing trip with him and the Black family. How I wish I would have gone with him. Maybe then I could have prevented the accident. Of course I had to be the typical rebellious teenage girl who refused to spend time with her old man. I was always the exception to the rule. Never doing what was expected of teenagers, the day I decide to act a little "normal" my world slips away from me.

Every time I close my eyes, I keep seeing the last 10 minutes that have altered my life forever.

_Flashback _

_I can't believe he was going to make me go on a fishing trip with him and the Blacks. Let's not even mention the fact that I would have been the only girl on the trip. And fishing, seriously, I have fish phobia and he wanted to take me to the middle of the lake or sea or wherever it is they go to catch fish. I would be surrounded by the fish, invading their territory._

_Here I have been alone in my house for the pass 36 hours. I feel horrible for not going on this trip with my father. I understand he just wants to spend time with his child, I guess this situation would be different if Junior would have made it. _

_About 10 years ago my mother was pregnant for the second time. Everyone was so excited we would be having a new member in the family. As my mother would say, 'we would have the perfect family; one beautiful girl and a handsome boy.' Yet, we never made it to having the perfect family. My mother went into labor early and encountered some complications. Although the doctors tried everything to save her, she passed away shortly after giving birth. Junior on the other hand looked as though he was going to make it. Sure he was premature and was going through what most premature babies usually go through he looked as though he was going to make it. _

_My father and I visited him on the second day he was born. I have a picture of the moment I got to meet my new baby brother. I remember him being so tiny and inside this clear tiny "house" as I called it. I remember wanting him to come home so we could show him his new room. I remember wanting my mother to come home too. Apparently Junior was not as well as we thought he was. A few days after my visit, Junior ran into some complications and passed away. _

_If none of this would have happened, if life won't have taken its course, my mother would be home with me and Junior would be out on the fishing trip with my father._

_As I was getting ready to make myself something to eat, there was a knock on the door. I walked over to the front door and opened it thinking it was Alice, my best friend, coming over to keep me company. Boy was I wrong. There standing in front of me was one of my father's deputies._

"_Miss Swan, can I come in?" he asked me as he held his hat in front of his chest._

"_Um… my father isn't home, he's on that fishing trip remember?" I told him so he didn't have to waste time._

"_Just can I come in? I must talk with you." He told me again._

"_Sure I guess. May I ask what it is about?" I asked him as we walked towards the kitchen._

"_Miss are you home alone, if so I think it be best if you call someone to come over, to be with you."_

"_Um … yeah my best friend Alice is on her way I believe." I can't believe that father has sent one of his deputies to watch over me. I must have a talk with him when he gets back. I am not a child anymore. _

"_Okay then I'll wait for her to come." He just stood there by one of the kitchen table seats._

"_I can't believe my father has made you come all the way over here to make sure I wasn't home alone. This is ridiculous."_

_He just looked at me; his eyes had a sad look in them. I wonder what was wrong with him. Just when I was thinking of asking him if he was okay, Alice barged in through the door._

"_Honey I'm home." She came in stating. I had to laugh she was such a happy person you just couldn't not smile around her._

"_Miss Brandon." The deputy told Alice while bowing his head slightly._

"_Good morning, are you on babysitting duty today?" Alice asked while giggling. _

"_Not fortunate enough, no. I think it be best if you ladies sat, I have some news to speak to Miss Swan about." He told us while motioning with his has to the chairs. _

_Alice and I took a seat. I was not having a good feeling about this. _

"_Miss Swan, I am so sorry to have to be the one to tell you this, but there was an accident last night …"_

_My world was spinning; I no longer heard the words coming out of his mouth. This just couldn't be happening. I looked over to the deputy who was shaking his head. I could feel the intake of breathe feeling my lungs and then leaving my body. It seemed as if everything was going in slow motion. I could hear my heartbeat in my ears; a slow thumping sound. I looked over to Alice who had her hands over her mouth as if her lips were going to fly off her face any minute and she had to hold them back._

" … _storm … flip … drowned …" those were the few words I was able to hear. My father had been caught in a storm and had drowned. This just could not be happening to me. He was all I had left. Life was just not fair._

_End of Flashback_

Here I stand, getting ready to face the world again. I am being forced back to school to finish my senior year and to move in with a family that I am yet to know who they are. According to my social worker, it was proving to be a hard task to find someone in Forks to foster a teenager for a few months. I was terrified to see who was going to be my sit-in family for the next three months.

Here I was packed and ready to meet the lucky family. My social worker Jane was finishing all the paper work and setting up date for us to meet.

"Okay Bella I think that Wednesdays will be a good day to meet and see how everything is going with you. Do you agree on this day?" Jane asked me as she hovered with a pen over a planner.

"Um… sure" I answered backed.

"Okay then it is all set. I can stop by the house Wednesday evenings at say six o'clock to pick you up for dinner and we can talk then." Jane confirmed.

"So the family should be here soon. I really hope you like them, they were really they only ones willing to take someone in at such a short notice." Jane was talking fast. She had kind of developed a soft spot for me being that I was her first case. Man I just could not believe all that has happened in such a short period of time. If only the clock could be turned back.

"Yeah" I said out of instinct.

"Bella, honey, you really need to talk to someone about what happened. I do not think it is good that you are keeping all this in. I mean even Alice, your best friend, told me you haven't opened up to her. You need to vent." Jane was looking at me with a hint of sadness in her eyes. Today she was wearing her hair in a stylish bun, gray dress pants, and a pink flowy shirt.

I didn't even bother answering her, I knew she was right but I was just not ready to talk about it yet. I was not ready to accept the fact that I was all alone in this world.

A car pulled up to the front of the house. I could hear car doors being closed and quick steps coming towards the door. Jane opened the door and greeted my new "family".

"Good morning Mr. and Mrs. Cullen" Jane spoke and just when I thought things would start to get better, I find out they are only going to get worst.


	2. Chapter 2

**All characters belong to S. Meyer**

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CHAPTER 2

The Cullen's were well known to me, but I cannot say that I had the best relationship with them. Over the years Edward, the Cullen's youngest son, and myself have developed a rather unhealthy relationship.

Since about 7th grade, Edward started to pick on me, I guess you could call it that. It all started while we were at Jessica Stanley's 12th birthday party.

_Flashback_

"_Okay guys time to play spin the bottle." Jessica called out to everyone that was standing around in the basement. _

_Today was Jessica's 12__th__ birthday party. I can't say that we are best friends, or good friends at that. It was a shocker to me that I was even invited to this party. Jessica was part of the popular group. Since her older sister was already in high school, she had become friends with a lot of high school people. Everyone thought she was so cool because of that. _

_I, on the other hand, did not have many friends. Truly I only had two friends, Alice Brandon and Jacob Black. Both of them went to a different school so I didn't really get to hang out with them as often as I would like. Since my mother's passing people at school have tried to talk to me more. Although I suspect that it has to do with their parents. _

_So this leads me to today where I am at a party with people that I barely talk to. Unfortunately neither Jake nor Ali could come with me so I am truly alone at this party. Everyone is already sitting around in a circle. I look over to my right where there still are a few people who have not sat down yet. Edward Cullen is talking to his friends, Tyler and Mike, soon they too turn to look at me and then out of nowhere start laughing. I turned around and started heading to the door to go home when Jessica called me over to play. So I did._

_Sitting down in the circle I notice that Edward is now sitting directly in front of me. Jessica stands and starts to say the rules._

"_Okay guys, this game is simple to play. Here we have a bottle; someone will start by spinning it. Whichever way the ends of the bottle point will tell us who is going to kiss. They will then come to the middle of the circle and kiss. The girl will then take the bottle and spin again." Jessica finished the explanation and sits back down. She places the bottle in the middle and spins it. Around and around it goes, everyone is hypnotized by the bottle, just waiting to see who will have to kiss. _

"_Angela and Ben, you guys have to kiss" Jessica sang once the bottle had stopped. So they did and then Angela sat back down with a deep blush on her cheeks. She spins the bottle again and once more the waiting begins. _

"_Edward and Bella have to kiss." Jessica said this time._

_I was instantly blushing. I knew I should have gone home. I did not want to kiss anyone, even less some guys that I barely knew. Edward got up and was walking to the middle. I then too get up and copy his moves. He looked back at his friends, they were smirking. Suddenly I got a bad feeling about this. Yet I could not back out, I had to do this, then I would leave. _

_Edward started to lean forward, I did too. He closed his eyes, so I did too. Then I felt this feeling of something warm on my face. Suddenly I opened my eyes. Everyone was laughing as I stood there with melting chocolate running down my face onto me dress. _

"_That's the only type of kiss you'll ever be getting Swan" Edward told me. _

_End of Flashback_

Ever since that game of spin the bottle Edward has only picked on me, played pranks, and just basically ridiculed me in front of all Forks. My father was never happy with him. He always blamed it on the music and media that young boys watch. He would always say:

"There is no way that the Cullen's would raise a son that way. Look at Emmett, he is a true gentleman. It's all the ridiculous things these boys watch."

Oh how I miss my father.

A lonely tear falls from my face at the thought of my father not being here with me anymore.

"Hey Bella come, I would like to introduce you to Mr. and Mrs. Cullen. They have been kind enough to let you stay with them for the remainder of the school year." Jane talks bringing me out of the daze I was in.

"Bella we would love to have you for as long as you would like to stay." Mrs. Cullen tells me as she walks closer to me.

"Yes Bella, we know that this time is difficult for you and we would like you to know that you can count on us for anything you need." Mr. Cullen says.

I nod my head although I am not sure if this is the best idea. How can I possibly live in the house of the one guy that hates the mere sight of me?

Mrs. Cullen approaches me and puts her arm around me. For some brief seconds I feel a comfort and peace that I have not felt in a long time.

"Bella, honey, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Esme Cullen. There is no need for you to be calling me Mrs. Cullen, do you hear. You can call me Esme." She smiles at me. "This is my husband Carlisle Cullen. You may call him Carlisle. We have two other members in the family, my boys Emmett and Edward. You will meet them tonight at dinner." Carlisle is also smiling at me. It is a sad smile. I wonder what caused them to take me in. I guess I will have to find out later.

Jane comes back from the kitchen. I did not even know that she was not here with us.

"Everything is in order. I will be over on Wednesday to take Bella out to dinner. As of now this will happen every Wednesday, yes." Jane states and looks over to me for confirmation.

"Okay ladies I say we get going. Are these your bags Bella?" Carlisle asks pointing to the suitcases by the door. I nod my head. He then picks them up and starts to head towards the car.

Jane walks toward me and Esme starts to walk in the same directions as Carlisle.

"Bella I just want to let you know that if anything were to go wrong please call me. I can be here in a few hours. I will miss you. Remember if you need someone to talk to before Wednesdays or after for the matter give me a call, yes?" Jane tells me as she hugs me. I feel some tears escape my eye but I hold them back. Jane should not have to see me like this. She has been working so hard to make me as happy as possible. I love her for that and would not like to upset her by crying.

Finally with one final look around my house, I step out towards the waiting car.

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**The past between Bella and Edward will reveal itself throughout the next chapters. Also new situations will develop. They will not be getting together anytime soon and there will be lots of drama. Hope you guys enjoy it. =]**


	3. Chapter 3

All cahracters belong to S. Meyer

The photos for this chapter can be found here

http : / roxxisaid . livejournal . com/

There are the photos for the Cullen house and some other photos from the chapter =]

Enjoy

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CHAPTER 3

Putting up to the Cullen's house was shocking. They did not own just any house, they own a mansion. It was three stories high, modern structure, and surrounded by, well I don't know how many acres of land but there had to be at least two.

"Welcome to our home Bella." Esme offered me as she opened the car door for me. Carlisle was getting the suitcases out from the trunk.

Walking into the house was another experience of its own. It was so elegant inside. All the furniture looked expensive and well just beautiful. Carlisle walked upstairs carrying my bags. I looked in his direction wondering if I should be following him, Esme quickly eased my mind.

"He's taking them up to your room. Let me show you around, yes?" Esme offered her hand to me. I took it and let her guide me through the house.

"Here we have the living room; we usually don't use this room much. Over here we have the kitchen. This here is the dining room, although we only use this room for special occasions. Here is the room we have our dinners. Out this way is the patio deck. Over there you can find the indoor pool. Come I'll show you." Esme guided me across the yard towards the pool. It was beyond words. A million questions were flowing through my head. So I spoke for the first time since coming here.

"Wow, you have a very beautiful place." I spoke out loud.

"Yes, Carlisle and I have worked very hard to build this place to be the place it is. Come, let me finish showing you." She wrapped an arm around my shoulder and guided me to the next place.

"Over here we have my gardens." She looked out to all the different flowers growing on the walk back towards the house. How I had missed them baffled me. They were truly beautiful.

Back inside the house Esme took me through the places I had already seen to the other side of the house. She made a stop to show me the bathroom.

"Here you will find the family room. You can watch movies or play video games. We usually spend the most time here together. On Tuesday night we try to have family night. Each time one of us picks a different activity to do, like watch a movie or play a game." Esme told me. She looked happy talking about family night.

"Now let's go upstairs, shall we?"

We walked up to the second floor.

"This room here is Carlisle's office and library." She opened the door and it looks even more amazing. There were so many books. "You can come here whenever you just want to read or anything." She told.

"This way we have the bedrooms. Forgive the mess that you are sure to see, these boys live like pigs." Esme laughed

"Here you have Emmett's room. Over here we have Edward's room. Now this room here is your room." She opened the door. I was blown away, it was, more then what I need.

"One last room and the tour will be done."

We walked up to the third floor.

"These doors are the extra 2 bedrooms we have. Oh yeah, each room has its own bathroom. Now this room here is mine and Carlisle's room." It was just what I thought their room would look like. Simply elegant.

"So the tour is done, you can go wherever you choose. Dinner will be at 6 o'clock so I'll see you then.' She smiled at me. I decided to go to my room and take a shower.

After going through my bags and picking out an outfit to wear for tonight I went to the bathroom to take a shower. I let the hot water run down my back for a while before stepping out. As my body relaxed, I let my mind wander off to the meeting that was sure to come. I mean, I am sure that he knows that I will be staying with his family so there should not be much to worry about.

Finally getting out of the shower, I dried off and put on some gray lounge pants, and a VS Pink sweatshirt. Looking at the clock I noticed that it was already 6:02. I wasn't really that hungry but I figured that skipping dinner would be rude and the last thing I should be towards the Cullen family is rude. Taking a deep breath I opened the door and headed down to the dining room.

Walking into the dining room I was greeted with the whole Cullen family already seated at the dinner table. Carlisle and Esme were seated at the ends of the table. Edward had his head in his hands looking down, and Emmett was petting a huge St. Bernard dog. As soon as I walked in the dog turned its attention to me, that's when Esme looked over.

"Bella, honey, come over you can sit right here." She said pointing to the seat between her and Emmett.

Edward slowly raised his head. His eyes locked with mine and an emotion crossed his face that I could not interpret. Suddenly he was getting up from his seat; I was pushed down to the ground by the huge dog. I had not been paying attention and it had been rushing towards me.

"Donatello, off." I hear a guy's voice said. The dog, or Donatello, immediately got off. A small barking was coming from my right and when I looked a smaller, much smaller, version of Donatello was coming towards me. It was running at full speed, well as fast as it could. It kept sliding toward the sides. Esme quickly got up from her seat and pick it up before it could reach me. The puppy quickly started licking her.

"Sorry Bella I forgot to mention we had two other members to the family. They were out with the boys today so that is while you didn't see them around. Here you have Raphael he is Donatello's son. Well you already met Donatello. They really are friendly so there is no need for you to worry about them. " Esme told me.

"Her mom? That is what you have brought home." Edward spoke. His hands were balled up in tight fists.

"Now Edward don't be rude." Carlisle spoke up. Emmett was helping me up from the floor.

"Welcome Little One." Emmett told me with a huge smile on his face. He seemed really nice. He was two years older than me and because of that I really hadn't seen him much in school.

"See Edward, why can't you be more like your brother? Bella needed a place to stay and our home is now her home too." Esme told her younger son.

"Mother you don't know what you have done." Edward answered back to her. He walked towards me. He stood mere inches from me face. He stared into my eyes and then just walked away from me leaving the whole family just standing there.


	4. Chapter 4

All characters belong to S. Meyer.

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CHAPTER 4

I couldn't sleep at all last night. I don't know if it was the fact that I was no longer living in the house that I shared with my father or that I had to go back to school. I would say that I probably got three hours of sleep at most. Today was going to be a long day.

My alarm went off at 6 o'clock in the morning. I got up from bed and made it. Then I went to the bathroom and brushed my teeth. Since the weather was nice outside I decided to go with a more summer look.

After getting dressed and brushing my hair, which was not working with me today so I just left it curly, I headed downstairs when I suddenly came to the realization that I didn't know who or how I was going to get to school. That was quickly solved though.

"Good morning Little One, I will be your chauffer for the time being." Emmett walked down the stairs telling me.

I was glad he was the one that was going to take me and that they were not forcing Edward to drive, who knows what would happen that way. I smiled back at him and followed him out the door. He led me to a very nice, black Range Rover. I climbed in and in silence we drove to school.

"Hey, have a great day. I'll be here to pick you up at 2 o'clock." Emmett told me as I got off the car.

I was not really to go to school again. Truly I had only missed two weeks of school because the first two weeks after my father's passing I was on Spring Break. Just standing in front of the school was enough to make me want to run home. To get through I just had to keep thinking that I only had one month left of school and then I would be out of here, out of the town, away from everyone and their immaturity.

Taking a deep breath I walked up the steps and through the doors of Forks High. Everyone was looking at me. I could see the pity in their eyes. Well those that had a heart and could feel any type of emotion. You know how there is always that one group whose only mission in life is to make someone else's life miserable. Well those eye I could see joy. Joy for the pain that others feel, they were the reason I hated this town.

After stopping by the office to let them know that I was back in school I headed off to my first class. Mr. Cheng asked to speak to me once I had placed my belongings down. He told me how sorry he was for my loss and handed me the make-up work I had to do. I was given two weeks to hand them in. That first class wasn't too bad. No one had wanted to talk to me or bother me. The same went for the rest of my classes till lunch.

During lunch a girl from school, Angela, came up to me.

"Hey Bella, how are you?" She asked me. I looked at her with confusion. Why was she talking to me?

"Okay."

"That's good. Look I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am about your dad's passing. He was a great man. I know we haven't really talked a lot but if you need anything just let me know."

She is a sweet girl. Never messes with anyone. She was the type of person I would hang out with but we didn't really hang out with the same crowd. She was always with the chess club and taking pictures of everything around her.

I grabbed an apple, some grapes, and a water bottle. Then I set off to find a table. The only table available was next to Edward Cullen and his group. They were the last people I would want to sit next to. I was walking by them to go eat my food outside when Tanya spoke up.

"Look who it is, Father-less Swan. Not even your father wanted to spend his life with you that's why he had to drown himself to get away." She said with her overly squeaky voice. Edward, who was next to her sharing his lunch, laughed at her comment.

I kept on walking not wanting to deal with them today. Jessica decided then to come towards me with her tray of food and "accidently" tripped on air sending her drink flying towards me. I was now covered in orange juice. Edward got up and offered to dry me with his napkin. Of course the napkin would be covered in the pits of the black cherries he was eating.

"I'm sorry; I didn't notice the napkin was dirty." He smirked. Tears were forming in my eyes threating to spill over. I'd had enough and with all the power in me I slapped him square in the face. Having dropped my food on the floor, I walked away from them, leaving a very shocked and angry Edward Cullen behind.

I didn't even bother cleaning myself. I went to my locker, grabbed my books, shoved them into my bag, and walked out of school. I vaguely heard someone calling my name but I didn't bother looking back.

I had not been walking for more than five minutes when it started to rain. I welcomed the rain, it covered my tears. I had no idea where I was going. I just needed to get away. Without knowing it I found myself at St. Rita's Catholic School for girls. Although I didn't know it, my heart knew I needed my best friend now more than ever.

I sat on one of the benches outside the main building. The rain was pouring down harder now. Before I knew it there was a nun standing next to me under an umbrella.

"Sweetheart, what are you doing out here in this weather. You are going to catch your death you know. Come with me, let's get you dry." The elderly nun said while taking my hand and leading me inside the school to what I could only assume was the nurse's office.

"Now here are some clothes, and a towel. You can go back there behind that door and dry yourself. I'll be waiting right out here for you." She smiled back at me.

After I finished changing into the dry clothes and wiping my tears away, I step out. The nun was sitting in a chair reading a book.

"Oh sweetheart, that's much better. Now tell me what it was you were doing outside in the pouring rain?" She asked me.

"I don't know. I guess I was running away from … everything." I looked down at my feet.

"Come, I'm going to take you somewhere where we can talk." She extended her hand for me to walk by her side.

We reached another room that looked like a little chapel. I remember being in a room like this back in the hospital when my mother and brother passed away. New tears started to surface in my eyes.

"Now tell me what is wrong." She looked at me with pleading eyes. She reminded me of a grandmother. The types that are always trying to fix anything and everything that goes wrong with their grandkids. The ones that always sneak candy into your room, while your parents aren't looking. She just seemed sweet and kind.

"My father passed away a month ago. I … well I miss him and my mother and even my brother. I'm all alone in this world. To make matters worse … it seems that everyone hates me. Not to mention that the parents of the guy who hates me the most are the ones who have taken me in." I hadn't opened up to anyone but for some odd reason I wanted to talk to her. Maybe it was the fact that she was a nun or that she reminded me of a grandmother. I let the tears I was holding back fall.

"Now my child, I am sure no one hates you, they are just lost that is all. About your father, I am terribly sorry, I know there are no words to make you feel better but I am sure he is looking down at you and wants you to be happy. When I was a little girl they always told me that when someone close to you passes they never really leave you, they are always by your side even if you can't see them. I am sure that your father will always protect you even though he is not here."

That made me cry even more. She wrapped her arms around me and just let me cry freely. I cried for my family, for the hurt I have because they are not by my side. Then after what seemed like hours of crying she spoke again.

"I'll tell you what I do when I feel like being close to the loved ones I've lost. When you feel lonely go out to the night sky, there the brightest star you see twinkling in the night sky, that is your father letting you know they are still here with you." It sounded silly to me but I guess sometimes the silly things are the ones that make you feel better.

"Thank you." I told her giving her a hug back.

"No problem. If you ever need to talk again, I'm here. Stop by even if it is just to say hi." She smiled at me.

I walked out of the chapel just as the bell announcing the end of the school day rang. I walked towards the doors leading out to the dorms. Alice was sure to pass by here. Just as I thought that, turning the corner was Alice and another girl. She was a lot talker than Alice, but then again who wasn't. Alice spotted me. She wave and quickens her steps.

"Bella, what are you doing here?" She doesn't even let me explain as she pulls me into a tight hug.

"Hey Alice, I missed you." I hug her back.

"Bella this is Rosalie, my roommate." Alice introduces me to the girl she was walking with. Rosalie extends her hand to me. I shake it and she smiles back at me. Her eyes show some sadness, she must know about my father.

"Nice to meet you Bella, Alice talks a lot about you." She tells me. Yes, she definitely knows.

"Same."

"Okay ladies, let's go to my room." Alice grabs our hands and takes us out the doors to the dorms.

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Hope you guys enjoy. I will be posting pictures of Bella's outfit on

http : / / roxxisaid . livejournal . com /


	5. Chapter 5

All characters belong to S. Meyer.

Enjoy =]

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CHAPTER 5

"So now you are living with the Cullens. Wow … just wow." Alice answered after I explained to her my current situation.

"Let me tell you Bella, these classmates of yours deserve to get tossed around a little to see if their brain reattaches itself to their body." Rosalie spoke up for the first time since we made it in to their dorm room.

"Yeah, on the bright side I only have a month left of that place and then off to New York for school." I was trying to only see the good side of this whole situation.

"Yes, I can't wait. You know I think we might have found a place to stay while we are there. We could live off campus." Alice informed me.

"Yeah, how? Where?" I asked wanting to know if I could go right after graduating high school. Rose spoke up then.

"You see I have a cousin who goes to school there, at NYU. I was going to stay with him and his girlfriend. They have like a double apartment or something. This summer three of their roommates will be graduating and leaving so that leaves three open spots. I could let him know to save one of you if you would like."

"That would be great. Please do."

"It's all set then. We will all be roommates! How exciting!" Alice sang pulling us three into a hug. I looked at the clock and saw that it was already 5:15.

"Oh man." I screamed, rushing around getting all my belongings together. Emmett must be freaking out that I was not at school when he went to pick me up.

"I have to go guys. Emmett must be going crazy looking for me." I let them know.

"You should call him. He could come pick you up here." Alice told me.

"One problem, I don't have any of their numbers. I'll walk there, it's still light out, I can make it back in time."

"Well just call us when you get there so we know you made it safe." Rosalie asked.

"Okay will do." I gave each a hug and headed out the door.

"Turn on your phone already Bells. We need to be in contact." Alice screamed as I walked out the door.

Lucky for me it was not raining anymore. It took me about half an hour to make it to the Cullen's home. Emmett's car was parked there and so were some other cars so they must all be here.

"I swear mom she wasn't there. I asked everyone there I saw no one knew where she was. I dropped her off there and I told her I would be back." Emmett was telling his parents.

"It's okay I'm sure she will turn up. We already contacted the police, they are on the lookout." Carlisle said.

I felt terrible for making them worry. Man was I in trouble. I walked into the kitchen were the voices were coming from. Donatello and Raphael were the first to spot me and both came running towards me.

"Bella!" Esme said rushing towards me and wrapping her arms around me.

Emmett came over and hugged both Esme and myself at the same time. I could feel Donatello pushing us as if he too wanted to join the hug and Raphael was jumping and barking right next to me.

"Don't do this to me again Little One." Emmett whispered as he hugged us tighter.

Once everything had calmed down and Carlisle had informed the police I was home safe and sound, Esme placed an order for Chinese food.

"So Bella not that we are trying to tell you what to do or anything but you can't just leave school and not let us know where you are. We worry." Carlisle told me.

"Yeah squirt." Emmett said changing his nickname for me.

"Sorry … I just had to get out of the school. I hadn't notice how late it was till I looked at the clock and well I didn't have any of your numbers to inform you."

"Oh honey, what happened?" Esme asked with worry in her eyes.

"It was nothing." I told her casting my eyes down towards my hands.

"So what happened to your clothes?" Emmett asked me.

"They got ruined. Well at least my shirt did."

"Well let me see. Maybe I can save it." Esme told me. I showed her my shirt and she gasped.

"How did this happen?" Carlisle was the brave one to ask.

"I had an accident." Just then Edward walked in through the door.

"I guess she didn't run away like we all hoped." Edward said once he saw me. He looked at me with anger in his eyes.

"Edward behave." Carlisle reprimanded him.

"Nobody wants her here. She should know that." He spoke again his eyes never leaving mine. He must have spotted my shirt because he then said.

"Well Swan do you not know how to eat or was your shirt just hungry?" He smirked.

I chose not to answer and looked back down at my hands.

"So Squirt, were you at St. Rita's that you are wearing these clothes?" Emmett always the curious one asked me.

"Yeah I was with my friend. That is why I lost track of time. Can you excuse me I should call them and let them know I made it here okay." I said as I got up from my seat to go to the room they had given me. Edward stood in my way and has I moved around him he moved with me.

"Wow and it lies too." I just moved around again and continued to walk up the stairs.

"Edward Anthony Cullen, what is wrong with you? Do you even understand what that poor girl has been through? …" I didn't finish hearing their conversation since I was already inside the room.

One quick phone call to Alice and 12 unanswered texts from Jake later. I was walking downstairs to grab some food.

"Bella you can go grab some food from the kitchen and bring it in here to the family room. We will be having dinner and a movie tonight." Esme let me know. Carlisle, Emmett, and Esme were already sitting in the family room with their food in hand.

Walking into the kitchen I was greeted with Edward pilling food in his plate. I was going to walk away and wait for him to leave but just then my stomach decided it wanted to make itself known. I hadn't had food since the banana I ate for breakfast and that was hours ago. Upon hearing my growling stomach, Edward turned around. He had a look of disgust in his face. I never understood what his problem with me was. What had I ever done to him?

"Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in. I guess from the sound of your stomach you should think about eating through your mouth and not your shirt, huh?"

I didn't answer him. I walked over and picked up a plate. Placing rice and some honey chicken on my plate I waited for him to move out of the way to finish getting my food.

"Look Swan," he walked closer to me setting his plate on the counter "that little stunt you pulled today won't happen again. You lay a finger on me and I will have one of my girls lay one of their fingers on you."

His face got closer to mine has he spoke. I turned my face to the side away from his. He was such an asshole threatening me like that. I didn't say anything back; I just kept my face turned. He sighed, picked up his plate, and walked away.

I finished getting my food and drink and headed out to the family room. Everyone was already sitting and the previews were running. I spotted a spot next to Emmett and sat down. Raphael saw me and ran over to lay by my feet. He was so adorable.

During the whole movie Emmett kept stealing food from my plate. He ate half my plate, well he and Donny did. Emmett kept feed him every time Esme and Carlisle weren't looking. It was hilarious. After the movie was over I went upstairs, took a shower and started on homework. I must have fallen asleep because next thing I knew it was morning.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey sorry for the wait, I got hooked on Roswell and just couldn't turn it off. **

**Anyone enjoy =]**

**All characters belong to S. Meyer**

* * *

CHAPTER 6

The rest of the week went by with no incidents.

On Tuesday the Cullen's had their weekly family night. I decided not join them and spend my time catching up on school work. Esme kept coming into my room asking me to join them but once I would tell her I was working on school work she would leave the room. Wednesday I was to meet with Jane but she had to cancel till next week because she had a family emergency. Thursday and Friday passed as regular. I went to school, I came home, had dinner, did homework, and went to sleep.

I had made plans with Alice, Rose, and Jake to hang out at First Beach with them on Saturday. It had been so long since I had seen Jake, I missed him. Both he and his father were involved in the accident that took my father's life.

Once the boat had tipped over during the storm Jake became tangled with some plants and couldn't swim away. According to Jake, my father had swam to him and helped him untangled himself from the plants. He was able to swim to some rocks were he climb up and tried to catch his breath. My dad had then gone to help Billy who had fallen on a rock and had lost conscious. He was able to get Billy up on another rock. As my father was pulling himself up unto the rock, the boat they were in knock him on the head. It is believed that the hit made him lose conscious. Jake told me he ran across the rock to try and pull my dad out but the currents were too strong and he just couldn't reach me dad. Billy is now paralyzed from the waist down.

For a long time Jake blamed himself for not reaching my dad in time. I didn't. Jake was pretty banged up himself. He wouldn't have been able to pull him out of the water. He would have most likely fallen in with him and instead of one life, we would have lost two. Father would have gladly given up his life to save another one. That was just the type of man he was. I will for always feel proud of my father.

Since neither one of us girls had a car, Jake had offered to come pick us up. We had told him it was ridiculous of him to drive over here to have to go back. We were just going to take the bus there or something. On Friday when I had gone to tell Carlisle and Esme of my plans Emmett volunteered to drive us girls to First Beach.

So here I am in a car with Emmett on our way to pick up Alice and Rose.

"Look they are waiting for us right there." I told Em as I spotted my friends standing in the corner, bags on shoulders.

Emmett pulled up to them, jumped out of the car and went to open the door for them. The girls were all smiles. I saw him and Rose keep eye contact for much longer than normal. Perhaps there could be something there. I must talk to Alice about this.

Once we reached the beach we saw Jake was there with some friends. Emmett got out of the car to help us with our stuff. Jake came running over and helped us carry the stuff back to where they had set up their stuff.

"Okay Bella, you call me when you guys are ready to leave okay." Emmett told me before he went back home. I nodded.

"Be safe ladies. Jake is it? Take care of them you hear. Have fun." He got back in his car and drove away.

"I like him. He seems nice enough." Rose told us.

"I'm sure you like him." Alice said back. She was wagging here eyebrows up and down. It made us all laugh.

Jake came over to me and wrapped his arms around me. Alice was quick to join.

"How I have missed you girls." Jake said.

"So where is she?" Alice not one to wait asked Jake.

"She'll be coming soon."

Jake had recently met someone. He was a little concerned cause she was two years younger than him. They had met on one of his trips to Port Angeles and had been keeping in touch via internet and phone since then.

"I really like her. She is coming with her older brother which scares me a little. She values his opinion and yeah, I hope he likes me."

"Who would have thought, Jakey in love!" Alice pretended to swoon. She was such a goof sometimes.

After about an hour, which was spend talking about Jake's mystery girl. She finally arrived. Jake went over to talk to them. On their way to us we noticed that not only was she there with her brother, but there were two other people with them.

"Hey Bella, Alice, I would like to introduce you to Reneesmee." Jake introduced us to his 'friend'. His eye got a little spark when he would look at her. We all shook hands. So far she seemed like a cool person.

"Nice to meet you. Jake talks a lot about you guys." She smiled at us. "This is my brother Peter, his girlfriend Charlotte, and his friend Jasper."

After all official introductions were made we made a bee line towards the beach. The water was cold to say the least but we had fun. We decide to play chicken fight. Alice was quick to grab Jasper as her partner. I had Embry and Rose had Quil.

As the sun was setting Jake and his friends started the fire. The girls were set up seats and food around it. This was always the funniest part of the day. Jake, Embry, and Quil always had the funniest stories to tell. When I was younger and we would come with our parents I would always get scared from one of the stories and end up in my dad's room begging him to let me sleep in there for the night.

The boys started telling their stories. As the night got dark and colder Jake snuggled with Nessie, Peter with Charlotte, surprisingly Alice and Jasper although I kind of saw that one coming. Quil and Embry got closer to Rose and me but we just hugged each other not wanting to deal with them.

Once the vampire and werewolf story was over, we started to pick up. I called Emmett and let him know that we were ready to go. It was close to 10:30 already so I hoped I didn't interrupt any plans that he might have had.

Less than half an hour later Emmett was here to pick us up. We said goodbye to everyone and planned on doing this again soon. With everything already put away in Emmett's car we started buckling up. Alice jumped out of the car and ran towards Jasper. She handed him a piece of paper and ran back.

"Okay now we can go." She told Emmett. Rose and I stared at her to which all she said was "What?"

Once the girls had been dropped off and I was back at the Cullen's house I ran up to the room and into the bathroom. After taking a long warm shower I rubbed lotion over my slightly burned skin and called it a night. Tomorrow was going to be a long day since I would have to spend the whole day here at the house.

Sunday morning rolled in before I knew it. I had already done all my make-up work and there was no homework that needed to get done. I was seriously contemplating the idea was staying in bed the whole day. I had apparently not used enough sun block and my skin was on fire.

I remembered how my dad would place the aloe vera gel in the refrigerator and when it was nice and cold he would put it on my sunburned cheeks. Since I happened to have some aloe vera handy I decided to use my dad's old trick. I got up really slowly and walked into the bathroom to brush my teeth. Looking at myself in the mirror I didn't look that burn. I mean you could tell that I had been out in the sun but at least my face didn't look so bad. My hair was a jungle of curls; you could even say that I looked exotic. I was wearing some white girl boxers and a gray tank top.

Grabbing the bottle of aloe vera, I rushed downstairs into the kitchen. I placed the bottle in the freezer so that I could speed up the process. I decided that while I waited I would make myself something to eat. I was preparing myself a good ole bowl of cereal and milk when I heard someone clear there voice behind me.

"Morning Little One." Emmett let me know it was him. He had a huge smile on his face when I looked over to him.

"Hey Em." I smiled back to him. It was hard not to smile when you saw him. His smile was contagious or something.

"Just so you know mom and dad had to go out of town late last night. They won't be back till tomorrow. Now seeing as I am the higher authority for the time being, I don't think you should be walking around the house looking like that. We have a hormonal boy living here you know." Emmett said. I looked down at what I was wearing again and blushed. Not that you could tell since my cheeks were already red.

"Sorry Em I didn't know it bothered you. I'm going to go change." I started to walk away.

"I don't mind. You know I see you like a sister already so I'm not going to get turned on or anything. But you know Edward on the other hand …"

"I don't think you have to worry about that. Your brother hates me; I highly doubt I can get any other reaction out of him that is not anger."

"I wouldn't be so sure. You are a very beautiful young lady and … um … you have some very nice assets." He chuckled.

"Okay I'm going to go change now. Be right back."

I was going up the steps when I bumped into someone coming down. Edward fell back and I landed on top of him. His reaction was to grab on to my lower back, for what reason I do not know. I screamed out in pain. The sunburned just made my skin too sensitive and it was extremely painful to have anything touch it.


	7. Chapter 7

**All characters belong to S. Meyer**

**Enjoy ! =]**

* * *

CHAPTER 7

"What is going on here Edward?" Emmett screamed at his brother.

I was trying to get up. Edward was trying to get up. Emmett was screaming. The dogs were barking. This house sounded like an asylum.

"Stop!" Emmett shouted finally. Every noise and movement ceased. He came over to where I was and helped me up.

"You, continue on your journey." Emmett told me.

"You, come with me." He told Edward.

"And you two, out to the backyard." He ordered the dogs, which surprisingly followed his command.

I ran up the stair and closed my door just as Emmett and Edward started to argue. I can't believe that just happened to me. I was mortified. I opened my closet and pulled out the first oversized shirt I saw. Carefully putting in on, I made sure it covered me completely.

I sat in my room for a few minutes. I really didn't want to go back down but at the same time I wanted to put on the aloe vera. I waited for a few more minutes to pass before I decided to go down. Surely they had to have gone their own separate way by now.

Peeking my head out the door, I carefully listened for any noise. I couldn't hear anything so I ventured out to the kitchen.

I was wrong. Of course I was wrong. Sitting on opposite sides from each other were Emmett and Edward. Edward had his head in his hands and Em was having a bowl of cereal.

"Hey Bella, glad you made it down so you can explain to me what it was my brother was doing to you." Em said.

"For the last time Emmett, I didn't do anything. Tell him Swan." Edward turned to look at me. For a brief second I saw something else in his eyes that was not anger. That quickly faded and he glared towards me.

"Tell him."

"It was an accident. We … We bumped into each other." I told Em.

"Are you sure Squirt? Don't be afraid of my brother he can't do anything to you. I'm here for you." Em told me.

"God Emmett why won't you believe me? I'm your brother after all. If there's anyone you should believe is me." Edward spoke in an angry tone. He turned to me, gave me one last glare and walked out of the kitchen.

"You know, I have no idea what bug bit him. He really is a great guy, just takes time for that guy to come out." Em defended his brother. Not that I don't believe that Edward is a great guy, just not towards people he hates.

"I'm sure." I mumbled

Emmett looked at me like he had heard what I said. I really hope he didn't. He is the last person I would want to explain the Edward-Bella relationship. To avoid any questions I walked over to the refrigerator and took the aloe vera out. This time I took my time going up the stairs.

Getting to my room I locked the door and went into the bathroom to apply the gel.

* * *

I must have fallen asleep for a long time for when I woke it was already night out.

Jumping in the shower I rinsed all the aloe vera off. My body was asking for food. I knew I needed to get some food in my system lest I wanted to pass out. Quickly getting dress with a pair of loose gray sweat pants and a black tank top I made my way downstairs.

I was glad to see that there was no one in the kitchen when I got there. I was hungry and wanted something quick. Looking through the cabinets I found some pasta that would just have to do.

While the water was boiling, I started to prepare the dressing.

Once the water was ready to cook the pasta I set the spaghetti in the water and went around the kitchen gathering all the utensils to have my meal.

"So what you cooking?" a voice said behind me. I was spooked and dropped the plate I currently had in my hands. Turning around I saw that Edward was much closer than what I would like him to be.

"Spaghetti." I answered him and went on my way collecting the bigger pieces from the shattered plate.

"Cool." He told me and hopped on the counter. He didn't bother helping me pick up the broken plate; then again I really didn't expect him to.

After having picked up and thrown away the broken plates I returned to the kitchen. To my surprise Edward had taken the time to finish the pasta and placed it on two separate plates. Needless to say I was left speechless.

"Thanks" I told him.

"Well you cooked dinner and all." He replied with a smile on his face.

I took a plate from his hands and proceeded to sit on the counter stool. I was hopeful that tonight was going to be a good night. Perhaps Edward who sit and have dinner with me and we could overcome whatever it was that made him hate me. I knew that there was no way that we were going to be friends, but it would be nice to not have him as an enemy.

He didn't come have dinner with me. We simply just didn't see each other the rest of the night at all.


	8. Chapter 8

**Pictures can be found in http : / / roxxisaid . livejournal . com /**

**Enjoy =]**

**All twilight characters belong to S. Meyers**

* * *

CHAPTER 8

Prom was close approaching, but I wasn't going. Then again why would I want to spend a whole night with people who I didn't like? And then there was fact that I wouldn't even know how to get ready for it. Sometimes I feel as though I missed out on how to be a lady since my mom passed away.

My father was a great man. I remember going shopping for clothes with him. Although he would get all my clothes from the little girls department, he somehow always managed to buy me boyish clothing. As I got older I tried to push my dad to dating, needless to say it never worked. I guess I just really missed having female figure in my life.

So, any who, here I was about to have dinner with Jane in this little cozy Italian restaurant.

"So you are not going to prom then?" Jane asked me. She was kind of hoping that I would be going. We were already going on an hour of her informing me of all the joys of prom. Still I remained unmoved.

"It's just not for me. Besides whom would I go with?"

"Well maybe I can come over and we can have a girl's night? It would be fun, yes? I just don't think you should spend you prom night at home." Jane was just not going to give up. I nodded; at least I could make her happy this way.

"It will be fun, I promise." Jane assured me with a big goofy smile on her face.

The rest of the night was spend talking about my time with the Cullen's, my college plans, and indulging in some good Italian food.

Walking into my room the first thing I heard was my phone ringing. I didn't even bother to look at the caller ID to see who was calling.

"Hello"

"God Bella why don't you ever answer your phone? You know I could be dying and you are nowhere to be found. Anyways, moving on, I have a favor to ask of you. No, I have a demand of you. You are going to prom." Alice spoke so fast that I didn't even have an answer to give her. I was still trying to process everything.

"I'm not going to prom Alice."

"Yes you are. I am your best friend and I need a date. You can't do this to me Bella. I don't want to go alone and even less have to deal with Emmett and Rose doing their mating dance." She was starting to whine.

"What happened with Jasper?" I asked her knowing that she was very excited to be going with Jasper.

"He had a family emergency and won't be able to make it."

"Well Alice I have plans with Jane."

"Cancel, she will understand. I already have your dress and everything. Say you will?"

"Well it's not like you are leaving me with much of a choice."

"Yay! Thank you B. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Love ya." And she hangs up. The things I get into.

Prom day was finally here and Alice was like a prom nazi. She had to be controlling everything; I can only imagine her wedding day, poor future husband of hers.

Alice was all over the place. She was running back and forth between my room and the bathroom. Here there was this little woman, with more curlers in her hair that one can count, wearing only her panties and strapless bra, with only one eye done with make-up. Watching this unfold before me I was suddenly overcome with the need to laugh. Bad idea.

"What's so funny Bella, cause I would sure love to laugh." Alice glared towards me. That alone was enough for my laughing to cease.

"Nothing ma'am."

"That's what I thought. Now that you are all done I will go to finish getting in your bathroom. When I come out I expect to see you in your dress and ready to go young lady."

"Yes mother." I answered her with a giggle.

As soon as she closed the door I turned around to look at the dress Alice had chosen for me. It was a midnight blue dress although it looked more black than blue. It was a little too much in my opinion but Alice said that it was simple and elegant and I would fit right in. It was truly a beautiful dress.

I stepped into the silver strappy heels, I had a feeling I would be injuring myself in these shoes but then again they were truly magnificent. As I stepped into the dress I realized that I would not be able to zip up the dress on my own. I was holding on to the front of the dress when there was a knock on the door.

"Girls it's me." Esme spoke up.

I walked over to the door and opened it. There stood Esme with a camera in hand.

"Oh Bella you look beautiful honey."

"Thanks. Esme can you help me." I asked her turning my back so she could zip up the dress for me. Turning back around to face her, Esme moved some of my curls around. It was a sweet gesture.

"Let me get a picture before Emmett comes back with Rose."

I smiled as Esme took a picture. Although I was not very fond of pictures I saw no reason to deny her of anything.

"You're father and mother would be so proud to see the beautiful woman you have become." She spoke with tears forming in her eyes.

Before things could get any more emotional Alice walked out of the bathroom in her emerald green dress. She looked stunning.

"Alice let me take a picture of you now and then both of you together."

And so we took picture after picture to the point where I lost count of the amount of pictures we had taken. Esme was stopped when Emmett shouted that he was home with Rose. Alice and I grabbed our handbags and walked down.

Esme and Alice were quicker than I and therefore made it down before I did. Reaching the top of the stairs and looking down I could see Emmett who was standing next to a very nervous Rose who was being hugged by Esme. Rose was wearing a red flowy dress that looked amazing on her. Carlisle was standing next to Esme and beside them, with his back to me was Edward. Today was also Forks High's prom therefore he took was standing in a tux fidgeting with his tie.

I walked down the steps in slow motion, too afraid to trip so early in the night. You know in the movies when the girl is coming down the stairs and everyone slowly looks up at her. Yeah well that is what it felt like, not because they were admiring the person coming down and there was a natural pull to look up but because Tanya had decided to open her big, fat mouth to say something regarding me.

"Just because you put an ugly duckling in a gown does not make if a swan at all." She spoke with her nasal voice. I glared at her not believing that even in the home of another she would be so rude.

"Excuse me?" Rose spoke up.

"She must have just looked at herself in the mirror Rose." Alice spoke up with a smirk on her face.

"I'm sorry you must speak up so that your voice may reach the ears of us normal people midget." Tanya spoke.

"Enough, this is my home and you are guest here I will here no more rudeness." Carlisle said looking straight at Tanya.

As I continued walking down the steps Emmett walked over to help me. He gave me a kiss on the cheek and whispered in my ear "You look amazing Little One."

I couldn't help but smile.

"Okay pictures." Esme gathered us all around and started snapping shots.

After a dozen of pictures in various positions she asked Alice to take a family picture. Edward and Emmett walked over to their parents to take the photo.

"Bella come darling come." She signed with her hands. I shook my head.

"Mom I thought it was a family picture." Edward argued, that was enough for me to know that I was right in denying to step into their family picture.

"Nonsense she is part of this family." Emmett spoke up.

Edward glared at his brother. This was quickly becoming a very awkward moment. Carlisle came over and basically dragged me over to the picture. He made me stand right between Edward and Esme.

"Edward is it? You need to get closer together." Alice told him. That is when I noticed the huge gap between Edward and myself. With a deep sigh Edward moved closer to me and placed his hand on my lower back. It was weird of a lack of better term. Not knowing why I took a look at Tanya, who by the way was not looking to happy. Sucks for her.

Finally the pictures were done and we started to walk out. Alice, Rose, Emmett and I started to walk towards Em's car. Edward and Tanya were walking towards his. They looked as though they were fighting. Well it looked as though Tanya was fighting.

"Remember there will be an after party here. Feel free to invite some of your friends girls. Have fun." Esme shouted out to us.

And off to the prom we went.


	9. Chapter 9

**Enjoy "]**

**All twilight characters belong to S. Meyers**

* * *

CHAPTER 9

Prom was amazing. Although at first I didn't want to come, I am glad that Alice twisted my arm and made me come. I had a blast dancing and acting goofy with my friends. For the first time in a long time I was truly feeling happy. Things in my life were starting to look up. In two weeks I would be graduating school and a week later I would be in New York. I honestly couldn't wait.

During prom Rose had received a call from her cousin James who was in town. Since he was already off school he had decided to come down a little earlier than expected. He was staying in Seattle till her graduation. Since there was going to be a party at the Cullen home, Emmett had suggested that James and his friends come down to Forks to celebrate with us tonight.

Currently we were sitting in the Fork's diner wait on James and his buddies while at the same time grabbing something to eat. We didn't have to wait long though, James and some other people walked in the diner as we were ordering our food.

"Jamie!" Rose stood and ran into her cousins arms. Immediately I noticed that James was a very good-looking man. Then again everyone in her family must be. They must just have some really gorgeous genes.

James was tall, around six feet, had blonde hair, blue eyes, and a toned body. Next to him stood a red-head woman, her hair was curly and long. She was about a foot shorter than him but they definitely looked like they belonged together. James wrapped his arm around her waist and appeared to be introducing her to Rose. There were two guys standing behind James. One was about a few inches shorter than James and had chocolate skin. He had long hair in dreadlocks and caramel eyes. Next to him stood the other guy who had dirty blonde hair and green eyes. He appeared to be less toned than James but still fit.

After all the introductions were made to Rose, they walked over to us.

"Hey guys I would like you to meet my cousin James, his girlfriend Victoria, her brother Riley, and Laurent, James' best friend." We all smiled and said hi to them.

Our new arrivals ordered something to eat and we all sat talking and eating.

* * *

Our late midnight meal was quite interesting. James explained to us about our future living arrangement. Victoria was happy to be having another female living with them since she had been the only girl living there for the last year. James was a little scared that now he would be the only male in the home.

Since the party would probably end late or early depending on how you want to look at it, Emmett had offered to have James and his friends stand at his house. This was definitely going to be a great night. I was glad to be getting along so well with all these people and even more to be able to spend time with them. I really now couldn't wait till I moved to New York.

Arriving at the Cullen house I noticed that there was already a great deal of cars. Emmett went ahead and parked the car in the garage and instructed James to do the same.

"Okay so since there is going to be a great deal of young, reckless, and annoying high schoolers in there, I suggest that we take our party to the basement once we get tired of mingling with them. What do you guys say?" Emmett asked us.

Everyone agreed and we didn't even bother walking through the part of the house were majority of the people were gathered. We went start into the basement which to my surprise looked like a sports bar/game room.

We were down here, drinking beer, playing games, and talking our heads off. After about an hour and three failed rounds of Just Dance on Wii, Alice started complaining that our prom dresses were the reason why she was losing so we decided to go upstairs to my room to change.

Back in my room Alice had taken it upon herself to pick out our after party outfits. I was dressed in white shorts, a black off-the-shoulder shirt and black high-top sandals. Rosalie was wearing black high-waisted shorts, a white semi-loose shirt, and shoes similar to mine. Alice had on tan shorts with a white button down shirt and tan sandals.

We, well Alice, quickly fixed our hair letting mine and Rose's loose curls down. My hair looked like a bird's nest but somehow also looked sexy. On our way back down I noticed someone coming out from one of the rooms. Knowing full well that this person was not allowed up here I stood back from the girls and watched the intruder. I noticed it was a girl and she was fixing her blonde hair. Though I didn't see who it was I assumed that someone had or was having some fun in one of the room. Since this was technically not my house I let it go, surely nothing bad was to come from this.

Rushing to catch up with the girls, who were now almost at the basement, the boys and Victoria where coming out from the room.

"Hey we are going to go see how this party is going, what to join?" Laurent asked us. So on our way to the party we were.

* * *

The family room, dining room, and kitchen looked like a madhouse. There were people everywhere and there were things going on that were beyond believe. We followed Emmett has he made his way over to the kitchen where there was beer and food. Somewhere on the way we had lost Laurent but James told us not to worry about him.

We had finally made it to the kitchen where I noticed that there weren't any actual alcoholic beverages but people seemed to be wasted. I must've had a confused look on my face because Emmett came to stand next to me and answered my unspoken question.

"Mom and Dad don't actually allow underage drinking so the kids usually keep the drinks in the car. That is why you will notice a lot of back and forth between the house and their cars. Also you see that cooler over there that everyone seems to be getting drinks from?" I nodded. "Stay away from that 'juice', it is anything and everything liquor and liquid found in the house or brought."

We continued walking around. I wasn't sure what it was or who it was we were looking for. Riley appeared next to me and I noticed that my friends had disappeared.

"Hey I kind of lost the others, mind if I stick with you?" Riley asked me. He seemed like a cool guy and there was something about him that told me he was a great guy. So I nodded and we went looking for a seat.

"So Bella that is a very beautiful name." he told me with a smile on his face. Odd.

"Thanks." I smiled back at him. I was scanning the area to locate someone.

"So when will you be coming to New York?"

"In about 3 weeks."

"Awesome. You'll love it there. There is always something to do or someone." I widen my eyes at the last words.

"That's the part where you laugh." Riley told me. I guess he was saying it as a joke but it freaked me out a little. Was he trying to hit on me or something? Oh man where are my friends? "You need to let go a little Bella. I am only joking with you."

"Yeah, I guess I just didn't get it. I haven't been myself lately." I told him.

"I'm sorry. I heard about your father. It must be hard. I lost my mother when I was younger." I gave him a sad smile. I could relate to losing a mother at a young age. It really sucked.

Just as I was about to tell him my story, for some reason I found myself wanting to share this with him, some girl jumped onto his lap and spilled her red drink on him. She quickly got off him and he stood.

"Damn. You think you have a shirt you could let me borrow?" Riley looked at me with pleading eyes. I nodded and stood to take him to my room to give him the shirt.

As we reached the top of the stairs, Edward was coming on his way down. I didn't bother to acknowledge his presences and continued to me room. You know the feeling you get when someone is looking at you with intense eyes? That was the feeling I was getting. I wanted to turn around and give him the same look back but I didn't. As we reached my room I pointed Riley to the correct door and let him go in first, I then quickly followed him in wanting to get away from the glaring eyes. Just as the door closed behind me I screamed.


	10. Chapter 10

**Enjoy =]**

**All twilight characters belong to S. Meyers**

* * *

CHAPTER 10

I couldn't believe what was happening to me. I couldn't believe what was in front of me. My breaths were coming in short and quick. I could feel Riley placing his arms around my shoulders. The hot tears were quickly running down my face.

There was some banging on the door but I couldn't react to it, I couldn't make myself open the door. The banging got louder and more frantic.

"Open this door or I'm going to bring it down." A voice said from the other side of the door.

Riley let go of me and opened the door. To my shock Edward was standing on the other side of the door. I turned around to face my room, or what had been my room. All my clothes were thrown around the room, there was spray paint on the walls and the clothes, the bed sheets were ripped and the pictures I had around the room had been cut up.

This anger started to boil up inside of me. Who would do this to me? When had they done this to the room? Oh god they had trashed a room that didn't even belong to me. I was taking deep breaths and getting angrier with each new breath. As I turned to exit the room and find the culprit I saw that Edward was smirking. I started to see red. I couldn't possibly believe that he hated me to the point of destroying what little I had that was my own or trash something that his mother put so much effort in.

"You!" I pointed towards Edward. "You did this to me." I walked over to one of my destroyed pictures and without looking at which one I picked up I walked back towards Edward. I pushed Riley out of the way and stood right in front of Edward, shoving the picture in his face.

"Bella I didn't …." Edward was trying to talk to me but I was not having it.

"Do you hate me so much that you had to destroy the only things I had that were my own? What have I ever done to you? What have I done to receive such treatment from you? Answer me damn it." My voice was high enough that only Edward could hear them. There were angry, hot tears running down my face, and I could feel Riley grabbing me from behind, pulling me away from Edward.

I was so mad that I wanted to hit him. I wanted to hurt him the way he had hurt me. I wasn't raised to resort to violence. I knew better than to give into my feelings at the moment. Untangling myself from Riley I walked over to torn clothes and kneeled in front of them.

"Just leave Edward. Just go." I slowly turned my head scanning for Riley; I didn't want him to go at the moment. I saw him pushing Edward out of the room. He was telling Edward something but I couldn't hear it. Finally Riley closed the door and locked it. I could hear Edward knocking on the door again but I knew he wouldn't continue for long. I was right, with one final punch to the door we hear heavy, rushed footsteps walk away from the door.

Riley walked over to me and wrapped his arms around my shoulders. I was glad that at least he was here to comfort me.

I don't know how long I had been sitting here, in front of the destroyed pictures of my family. I could hear voices around me but I couldn't recognize who they belonged to. I could still feel Riley near me although he was no longer holding me. There were no tears left in me. I was so fed up with everyone in this town. I have never messed with anyone but I still get treated like this. I was not going to spend an extra day in this place if I could avoid it. If my buttons kept being pushed I was bound to burst, that would not be fun.

Taking a deep breath I got up and turned around to see who the voices belonged to. Standing there were Rose, Alice and James. Just outside the room were Emmett and Edward, they looked like they were in a heated conversation.

"Hey can you guys get me some bags to pick up this mess?" I asked Rose and Alice. They nodded their heads and went out to finds some bags. Emmett offered to show them were the bags were and then there were four.

"James, you think you would mind if I left to New York with you guys?"

"I'm sure Vicki would love to have a girl there to help her reorganize the apartment." He smiled.

I turned my eyes towards Edward and was not at all surprise to see Tanya standing next to him. There was a smirk on her hideous face.

"Oh fatherless Swan did you have a little episode in your room?" Edward started pulling on her arm but she was not giving in. "You should really go see someone about these episodes. You can never be too careful around her." She turned to look at James and Riley. Edward finally managed to get her to leave.

I spend the rest of the night picking up my room and then the girls and I headed to one of the guest room and watched a movie till we fell asleep.

* * *

Once I woke up in the morning I noticed that it was already one in the afternoon. I quickly took a shower and dressed in a pair of jeans and an aqua v-neck shirt, which were some of the few things that hadn't been destroyed.

Making my way downstairs you would have never guessed that there had been a party here last night. The place looked spotless. The kitchen, on the other hand, was a mess of people. Alice, Rose, Emmett, James, Vicki, Laurent, Riley, Esme, Carlisle, and even Donatello and Raphael were there.

I said my good morning, or afternoons was more like it, and went on my way making myself something to eat. I sat and ate while Alice and Rose were filling Esme in on prom and showing her pictures. Riley came over to me and without even asking he started helping me prepare my food.

"You know we haven't really seen much around here and since you know are in need of some more clothes maybe we can go to the mall and hangout. Hey, I can even help you pick clothes that are New York appropriate." He smiled down at me. I guess shopping with him was better than with Alice and I could always start shopping for New York clothing now better than later.

"Sure that would be nice." I told him and grabbed my plate of food and drink and walked over to a couple of empty seats.

After eating brunch, Riley went over to ask James for the car. Laurent had a date with Angela and she was going to pick him up here, James and Vicki were going to hang out by the pool with Emmett and Rose, and Alice was too indulged with Esme to go anywhere else.

Riley easily got the car from James and we were soon on our way out to the mall.

We spend the greater half of the day buying clothes and enjoying each other's company. Riley was only two years older than me and was a great looking guy, maybe someday if the chemistry was there we could be something but at the moment he just felt like a really good friend, maybe even a best friend. Alice and Jake should maybe even be worried; I was really starting to enjoy my time with Riley.

We grabbed a little something to eat and then continued shopping. I now had more clothes than before and no idea where to place them. Riley suggested that I start packing all of my New York clothes now and even went as far as buying my suitcases to pack my clothes and belongings.

Just as we finished placing the last shopping bag in the car, Tanya, her group of skanky friends, and Edward were walking our way.

"Oh are those new clothing." Tanya ripped one of my bags from Riley's hands. He did not look too happy and ripped it back out of her hand but not before she was able to obtain one article of clothing from inside the bag.

Raising the navy blue dress in front of her she said, "Not bad Fatherless Swan, now aren't you glad I got rid of all your clothing." She smirked towards me and threw the dress in my face. I saw red and launched myself on her.


	11. Chapter 11

All characters belong to S. Meyer.

Sorry for the wait. This chapter is a bit short but the next will be way longer since I finally have taken the story to where I've been wanting it to go. Sorry if there are any grammar issues, I just thought I would put the chapter up now, then edit and repost if anything.

Enjoy =]

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CHAPTER 11

Tanya flew to the ground with me on top of her. I couldn't believe that she had been the one to trash my stuff. I didn't get to do much to her because soon I was being pulled off her. I swung my hands with purpose landing a punch square on her nose. I guess someone was going to need a new nose job.

Looking around I saw Riley standing behind me but there were other arms wrapped around me. Edward whispered in my ear to calm down, that she wasn't worth it, at the moment that was not how I felt. I wanted to her to feel a fraction of the pain she had made me feel. I knew that emotionally I couldn't make her feel like I did because for that would require her to have a heart, therefore I wanted to hurt her physically.

Tanya's friend was quick to rush to her side and help her up.

"You crazy bitch! You will pay for this." Tanya screamed at me.

I was breathing hard from the adrenaline rush and struggling to get out of Edward's vice grip. He walked me over to the passenger's seat in the car and Riley opened it for him. Edward spun me around and placed me on the seat, he was standing in front of me when he started to talk.

"Swan you are better than this. She was drunk when she did that. Besides we can replace anything that was damaged. Now how about that punch, didn't know you had it in you." He finished with a smirk. I was shocked, well no I actually wasn't. Of course he would think that his money could fix anything his precious girl did. God, there were valuable things that she destroyed that can't be replaced.

"You think your money can fix all that she… all the valuable things that she destroyed." I got up from the seat and got, literally, centimeters from his face. "Tell me Cullen, how are you going to buy back my pictures. My torn pictures of my father, or the ones of my mother, or how about the ones of my baby brother? How do you plan on repairing the damage done to them, huh? Answer me." We were nose to nose now. He was just staring at me with his mouth half open.

I turned around and entered the car slamming the car open. I could not wait to start living my new life in New York, away from these, these buffoons. Riley was sitting next to me in the driver's seat quicker than you could say Mississippi. We drove in silence back towards the Cullen's house.

((Life's Curve Ball))

Riley was helping me bring the bags out from the trunk when he finally spoke to me.

"I could help you with your pictures. When we get to New York I'll work my magic on them and they will be as good and new. Scouts honor." He raised his hands. I couldn't help but smile at him.

"That would be nice Riley, Thanks."

We walked in to the house and I went straight to the guest's room. After placing my bags in there, Riley and I walked down to try and find everyone. Alice and Esme were in the family room talking in a hush tone.

The rest of the day went by with no problems. So did the week. It felt as though I had blinked and my senior year was over. Rose and Alice had graduated the Sunday before my graduation. Now it was Wednesday and my graduation was only hours away.

Tomorrow morning I would be leaving with Riley and everyone else to New York.

((Life's Curve Ball))

Graduation day was around the corner, literally. There was a sea of Navy blue making its way around the corner of the stadium, getting ready to receive that single paper that would declare we were officially done with high school. I couldn't wait.

Alice had managed to convince Esme, which was not too hard, to have a graduation/farewell party. Esme was super excited, she even spend the night before cooking and preparing the house for the festivities. Alice and Rose, having already ended school, had been helping Esme with all that needed to get done.

The ceremony went by in a blur. Names were called, diplomas were hanged out, pictures were taken, and then it was done. Once everything was done, all the families, many with tears in their eyes, walked over to their children. There were smiles and happy tears where ever I turned. That's when my own tears started to pool in my eyes.

I felt arms encircle me, it was Riley.

"Congratulations!"

"Thanks."

"They would be proud of you." Alice spoke, coming into view. She took Riley's place and tightly embraced me.

"Oh sweetheart, we are so proud of you. Please stand together so I may take a picture. Wipe those tears of all your pretty faces." Esme told us as she herself wiped her own tears.

After having taken a few dozen pictures, we were finally at the Cullen's home ready for the party. Tanya was banned, so to speak, and that did not make for a happy Edward. Regardless he didn't seem to like hateful towards me during the mini party, which I was graceful for.

There weren't many there for the party. Basically family members of the Cullen's, my best friends and their significant others, some close friends of Edwards, and those that would be my new family. We ate and talked and even cried when Emmett attempted to tell us a joke.

Time had flown by without notice. Soon there were a few of us left. Jake needed to take Nessie back home so he was the first I had to say good-bye to.

"I'm going to miss you but don't think you can get rid of me just because we will have so many miles between us." Jake spoke into my ear as he was giving me my good-bye hug.

"I won't dream of it. I'll come to visit you and you must come visit me. And besides there is always Facebook." We both laughed at that.

After making promises of keeping in touch and a tearful goodbye, Jake was on his way home and soon I would be on mine.

Alice and Rose were the time to leave or rather I was the one leaving. Alice and Rose came to hug me at the same time; we had an awkward three-way hug.

"Have a safe trip home." Rose told me.

"Yeah we'll be there soon than you think, you'll just see." Alice told me.

"Make sure to call us the minute you land, no matter what time it is." Rose said. We were silent for the next couple of second, until Esme came and broke us apart.

"Stop hogging her, you'll be seeing her soon. I on the other hand probably won't see her till the holidays. Oh Bella." Esme came over and wrapped me up in her arms. We stood there for a while till Emmett took over. He promised he would be seeing me sooner than I thought and I had a feeling he wasn't lying. With Rose leaving with us, Emmett was sure going to be spending lots of time over in New York.

Riley cleared his throat so I looked behind me. He was standing with all my suitcases, not that they were too many, Carlisle was with him. They both took the bags and placed them in the car. I gave Carlisle a hug. There weren't any words exchanged but the strength behind his hug was enough for me.

I stepped back and looked around. Making eye contact with Esme I thanked her for all she had done. That only made her cry and made me promise to come back "home" to visit them. My new family was already set in the car. Riley was holding the car door open for me waved and entered the car. As we drove away, I looked back to the people I was leaving here. They were all standing were I had left them; there was a new addition to the group. Edward was leaning against the front door. With a sigh I look back towards the front of the car, setting off to my new life.


	12. Chapter 12

S. Meyers owns characters.

Enjoy =]

CHAPTER 12

Six years. It had been six years since I had last set foot in Forks. Now I was on my way back to be a part of Rosalie's and Emmett's wedding that would be taking place in less than a month.

Here I sat in the airplane that would be taking be back to the town that had made be would I am today. I was a terrified that by going back I would have to relive those horrible last few months. Truth be told, I wasn't planning on coming back till the day before the wedding but Esme had convinced me to return before hand.

Since moving to New York, Esme had gone to visit me for 21 days every year since I had been living there. The first time it was during Christmas. I had refused to go back to Fork telling her that I just couldn't take time off work. The Cullen's had even bought me the ticket to go back "home" but I had told them flat out no. Three days after Esme's last call to me, and the day of Christmas Eve, there was a knock on my door. All my roommates had gone back home to spend the holiday's with their families. Although they had asked me once and again to join them I wanted to spend time on my own. I thought the knock on the door was one of our neighbors needing to drop something off. To my shock, Esme and Carlisle were standing in front of me; Carlisle had his hands full of boxes wrapped in beautiful Christmas wrapping. I couldn't believe that they would leave their family behind but Esme later explained to me that Edward had decided to go to Alaska to spend the Holidays with friends and Emmett was spending them with Rosalie.

After that first visit Esme and Carlisle had come to visit me every year for 21 days. They always wanted me to go to Forks to visit them but I couldn't, or rather say I wouldn't. But here I am going to plan Rosalie and Emmett's wedding. Rosalie was handling things from New York and planning her and Emmett's move to Seattle. Alice, who was the maid of honor, was finishing work in Milan and wouldn't be able to make it for another two weeks. I was the unofficial wedding planner and carter. I was going to do everything from back here in New York but Esme had called and begged me to let her help me. She got me when she started telling me she didn't have any daughters and by the looks of it this was going to be her only chance to enjoy planning a wedding. I couldn't say no to Esme. Besides it was time I showed myself that Forks was just a town and going back there was not going to change me.

LCB

Esme was the one to pick me up from the airport. Once she saw me she practically ran towards me and hugged me. Just being in her presence brought a smile to my face.

"How was your flight dear?" Esme asked me while picking up my luggage.

"Everything was fine."

"Good, now the real fun begins. I can't believe that Emmett and Rosalie are getting married. It took them long enough. Hopefully they make me a grandma soon. Can you imagine a little Cullen running around the house? I just can't wait!" Her eyes brighten up with every word she spoke. I was glad that Esme was so happy about this. I also had a feeling that her wishes would be coming true very soon.

Within a few hours we were parking in the Cullen home. It still looked the same as the last day I was here. Carlisle greeted us the minute we reached the truck to retrieve my luggage. He kissed Esme on the cheek and gave me a hug.

"Welcome home Bella." Although this place didn't seem like home to me these people where surely starting to feel like my family.

Carlisle had led me to what used to be my old bedroom. Esme had told me once before that she had repaired the room and that it would always belong to me. The room looked great. The walls were purple and white with black, thin strips. The bed had one large, fluffy looking white comforter, dark purple sheets, and more pillows than I cared for. The scent of lavender filled the room and I couldn't help but inhale the sweet smell.

Once I had settled myself in my room I walked down to the kitchen where I could smell Esme's famous stuffed sweet potatoes.

"Yum, something smells great." I walked over to where Esme stood mixing the salad. "Need help with anything?" I asked her.

"Could you please set the table? Everything is in those two cabinets." Esme replied pointing over to the two areas where I would find everything I needed.

"How many do I set the table for?" I asked. Since I had noticed that Carlisle was no longer in the house.

"Four." Esme simply answered. Four? Who else was going to come to dinner?

"Who will be joining us tonight?" I asked terrified of the answer I would get.

"Carlisle just went to pick Edward up. I'm so excited to be having you and Edward back home. It seems that you both decided to disappear and return at the same time." Esme answered with a huge smile on her face. I couldn't believe that Edward Anthony Cullen was coming back tonight. I knew that coming back to Forks would mean coming face to face with my worst enemy, I just didn't realized it would be so soon.

LCB

The table had been set and Esme had finished all the cooking. She was currently placing the food on the table while I was finishing with the chocolate mousse that she requested I make. The sun had set and now the moon was starting to shine. A set of car lights shined through the window and my heart dropped to the bottom of my stomach. I felt like I had six years ago when I had first walked into the Cullen's home.

Carlisle came in to the living room and announced their arrival. Esme hurriedly walked to them and I could hear her excitement over seeing Edward. I was frozen in place. The feelings that I had feared would return the minute I set foot here, where suddenly taking over. I tried to block the voices coming from the living room and finished the dessert I was working on. I walked to the refrigerator and made space to place the four cups of chocolate mousse. Esme walked into the kitchen and told me that everyone was waiting in the dining room. I took a deep breath and walked back to the dining room with Esme.

Walking into the dining room, Carlisle stood and Edward followed. Edward's back was facing me. The way the table had been setup I would be sitting in front of him. Edward slowly turned and I am sure my eyes must have opened to the size of baseballs. Gone were the boyish features and in their place were manly structures. His face had sharp, defined cheekbones and jaw. I don't even know what I was thinking. There was no way I could describe the changes in this man. He had grown a few more inches and his body was even more toned. Some things still looked the same like his hair. It was still as messy and untamed as ever. He wore a simple black long sleeved shirt, dark blue jeans, and black chucks.

Before I could even comprehend what was going on, Edward was in front of me wrapping his arms around me and giving me a kiss on the cheek. It was something that I had never received from him and neither was I expecting it. I tensed and after I realized what was happening all I could do was pat him on the back. He squeezed me even harder and that made me uncomfortable. I placed my hands on his shoulder and gave him a gentle push. Edward was smiling when he let me go and I had a feeling he knew exactly what he was doing all along.

We all sat down for dinner, and talked about what we had been doing in the last few years. Really what was happening was Edward talking about his work. Apparently he was becoming a doctor in Alaska and was currently working with children who suffered from cancer. Who would have ever thought that the Edward I knew would turn out to be like this. He was only planning on staying for a few days because that was all he was currently getting while doing his residence.

Then he managed to turn the attention on me.

"So Isabella, what have you been up to these last few years?" Edward asked me.

"You know just figuring out what I should be doing." I replied.

"Nonsense. Bella's an amazing coordinator and baker, she is currently opening her own business. How is that going dear?" Esme placed me in the spot light.

"Well Esme, I think I finally found a location and I really don't have anything else going on at the moment besides Rosalie's wedding." I told her. This was really not something I wanted to get talking about at the moment. Thankfully Carlisle sensed my uneasiness and changed the topic.

"So Bella I heard you were in charge of dessert this evening, how about we take a go at this fabulous creation of yours." I stood from the table and walked over to the kitchen to retrieve the chocolate mousse.

"Oh chocolate, my favorite." Carlisle said coming over to help me with the cups.

"Thank you Carlisle."

"So mom, where are Donatello and Raphael? I haven't seen them at all tonight?" Edward asked as he took a spoonful of dessert into his mouth.

"They, my dear son, are at the groomers till tomorrow. They will be so happy to see you guys." She then turned to me, "Raphael seemed to really miss you Bella. He was extremely down right after you left."

I felt bad. Those dogs were the sweetest creatures on Earth and if I could and if Esme didn't mind, I would take them home with me.

After dinner and after everything was cleaned, I when upstairs to give Carlisle and Esme some time with Edward. I go caught up in planning details about Rosalie and Emmett's wedding that before I knew it, it was already two in the morning.

I changed into some comfortable clothes, boxer shorts, a black shirt that had a picture of snoopy, and some socks. After clearing the room and making sure I had organized the papers I had been working on, I realized that I was hungry. I listened for a few second to see if I could hear any noises within the house. There were none and seeing as it was so late I quietly walked down to the kitchen. I was in the refrigerator grabbing the ingredients to make myself a bowl of cereal. As I turned around I almost let the bowl of milk fall to the floor.

"Fancy seeing you here at this hour Swan."


End file.
